Remember Me - Lesley Pearse [156]
James looked, half smiled at the man and passed on the whispered message to the others.
The magistrate, who had a thin face and spectacles perched on the end of a very sharp nose, questioned them one by one, and seemed remarkably attentive to their replies. This in itself was a further surprise, for all five of them had experienced complete indifference from their judges during the trials which led to their transportation. And they all knew people who were shoved through the courts and sentenced without any real evidence or witnesses being produced.
When it came to Mary’s turn, the magistrate was far more than just attentive, he was clearly truly interested and committed to getting a real picture of the events. Nervous as she was, she looked right at him and spoke in a clear voice. The only time her voice cracked was when she was questioned about the deaths of her children.
‘It was all my idea to escape,’ she admitted. ‘I planned it and got hold of the charts and navigational equipment. I bullied my husband Will into going along with it, and made him persuade the others to join us.’
She sensed the men looking sideways at her. Clearly they were surprised she should put herself forward as the instigator.
‘How long were you planning this escape before you actually left the colony?’ the magistrate asked, peering at her intently.
‘It was in my mind to escape almost from my first day there,’ she said. ‘But it was when my husband was flogged for nothing more than keeping back a couple of fish he’d caught that I became determined we should go. We were starving, people were dying all around us, yet my Will, the only man who was supplying any food, got a hundred lashes. It wasn’t right.’
His questions went on and on, and Mary answered them all truthfully. Finally the magistrate asked her if she had repented of the crime that sent her to New South Wales.
‘Indeed I have, sir,’ she replied. ‘Not a day went by out there when I didn’t regret it.’
A murmur of approval at her words rippled round the courtroom.
‘But tell me, why did you choose to risk your two small children’s lives on such a long and perilous journey in uncharted seas?’ he asked.
‘The perils were every bit as great in the colony,’ she said resolutely. ‘I believed it was better for us all to die together in the sea than to die slowly one by one of starvation or some terrible disease.’
The murmur of approval from the spectators became a roar. When the noise had died down, the magistrate announced that he was not ready yet to commit them to trial and so they would be returned to the prison and brought before him again for further examination in a week’s time.
As the five were led away, they were bombarded with more shouts of sympathy. They were put into a cell beneath the court to await their return to Newgate.
‘Can you believe that crowd?’ James said gleefully, his eyes dancing the way they used to back in Kupang. ‘They are all on our side. Surely we won’t hang now?’
Mary said nothing. To her, spending a great many more years in prison was a far worse prospect than hanging.
‘You were wonderful,’ Sam said to her, grinning from ear to ear. ‘But you shouldn’t have taken all the blame.’
Mary shrugged. ‘It was all true, I did bully Will and got him to involve you.’
‘You’re a brave woman and no mistake,’ Bill said in a shaky voice. ‘I’m sorry we thought badly of you the other day.’
Before Mary could reply, she suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of Mr Boswell’s voice. He was at the end of the stone passageway, demanding to be let in to see her. Mary’s heart sank. If he made another offer to defend her in front of the men they would think her a liar.
All at once he was there in front of the grid, resplendent in a dark blue jacket and embroidered waistcoat, his round red face wreathed in smiles.
‘Mary, my dear, you gave such a good account of yourself,’ he boomed out joyfully. ‘The crowd took you to their hearts. Within days people everywhere will read the newspapers’ report on today’s events, and everyone